Media Centre keyboard recommendations
Discussion
tenohfive said:
So what did you end up with?
Since posting a few more drops have killed my Viewsonic keyboard, so I need a replacement. I'm hoping a smaller keyboard will result in it being knocked off the edge of the sofa a bit more.
Sorry for the late reply - I haven't actually bought anything just yet but I suspect that I will get the Dinovo Mini as that still seems the best compromise to me and if the range of the Egde that I already have is anything to go by, then range certainly won't be a problem. The others mentioned in the thread either have very mixed reviews on different sites or are just too large for my preferences.Since posting a few more drops have killed my Viewsonic keyboard, so I need a replacement. I'm hoping a smaller keyboard will result in it being knocked off the edge of the sofa a bit more.
If you are less than 10ft away from the receiver or can route a USB extention close enough, then I would recommend trying the Rii keyboards (Sold under several different brand names) as they are super cheap and very good when in range. They do not have any dedicated media buttons (Symbols are printed for Fn+keys) and I never actually got them to work but then again, I did only try for about two minutes as I wasn't really bothered for them personally!
HTH
C0ffin D0dger said:
Al K said:
I have one of these. Not cheap but it is remote-sized and has good battery & range. Only annoyance is that you can only do right-click with the function key so it's two handed for that.
Also got one of these for my media centre. Pretty good so far.I like the ability to flick the mode switch so the mouse/touchpad turns into a simple direction pad for navigating the Home Theatre menus.
.. I see it's still commanding the same high price after all this time though! but it is worth it.
Thought I would resurrect this topic and post a mini review of the K400 since others seemed to be interested in the outcome.
Due to an incident with the DiNovo Edge that resulted in several keys being broken off the keyboard and the tiny plastic clips that hold them in place disappearing, the keyboard needed replacing. NB This was not a fault in the manufacturing or quality of the keyboard but instead a fault of the wife's for letting a 4 year old play with the keyboard!
I was lucky enough to spot the Logitech K400 for £17 on Amazon's Black Friday deals a couple of days after the Edge was broken and have been using the K400 since then.
The K400 is physically larger than I would have preferred but is still smaller than a standard keyboard and for my use at least, contains almost all the media keys that I need for operating both Windows Media Centre and Plex - although one media key that I would have liked (a stop button) is absent but by no means a problem. A big advantage of the K400 over the edge is that you do not need to hold down any keys to use the media keys.
The range of this keyboard is perfect for my use when using the (supplied) range extender USB adapter. For anyone considering this keyboard, it is worth being aware that the range extender makes the USB receiver stick out a couple of inches from the PC, although it is very handy to only have to use the 'nano receiver' if using the keyboard with a laptop as range wouldn't really be an issue in that instance.
The only downsides that I have found with this one when compared to the Edge is that the K400 feels very 'plasticy' and needs 2 AA batteries to operate (Instead of a built in rechargeable battery that can be constantly topped up) but as the batteries are still strong I don't know yet how it will react when they start to get too weak. I also wouldn't like to do any serious typing on this keyboard but obviously that wasn't what it was purchased for.
Hope this helps.
Due to an incident with the DiNovo Edge that resulted in several keys being broken off the keyboard and the tiny plastic clips that hold them in place disappearing, the keyboard needed replacing. NB This was not a fault in the manufacturing or quality of the keyboard but instead a fault of the wife's for letting a 4 year old play with the keyboard!
I was lucky enough to spot the Logitech K400 for £17 on Amazon's Black Friday deals a couple of days after the Edge was broken and have been using the K400 since then.
The K400 is physically larger than I would have preferred but is still smaller than a standard keyboard and for my use at least, contains almost all the media keys that I need for operating both Windows Media Centre and Plex - although one media key that I would have liked (a stop button) is absent but by no means a problem. A big advantage of the K400 over the edge is that you do not need to hold down any keys to use the media keys.
The range of this keyboard is perfect for my use when using the (supplied) range extender USB adapter. For anyone considering this keyboard, it is worth being aware that the range extender makes the USB receiver stick out a couple of inches from the PC, although it is very handy to only have to use the 'nano receiver' if using the keyboard with a laptop as range wouldn't really be an issue in that instance.
The only downsides that I have found with this one when compared to the Edge is that the K400 feels very 'plasticy' and needs 2 AA batteries to operate (Instead of a built in rechargeable battery that can be constantly topped up) but as the batteries are still strong I don't know yet how it will react when they start to get too weak. I also wouldn't like to do any serious typing on this keyboard but obviously that wasn't what it was purchased for.
Hope this helps.
Funnily enough I ended up with a K400 as well. I agree, it does feel plasticy but the flip side of that is it's also pleasantly light. I'm very impressed with it - as a very different design to my old Viewsonic (which I was happy with) I wasn't convinced, but both the missus and I find it well laid out, comfortable to type on and perfect for HTPC use now.
I've not needed to change the batteries since I got mine in September.
I've not needed to change the batteries since I got mine in September.
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